Lawmakers from hard-hit states such as Florida are demanding tens of billions of dollars of hurricane relief and rebuilding funds as part of another temporary Washington spending bill to keep the government from shutting down over Christmas.

PolyMet Mining Corp. is offering the state a $544 million package of financial assurances to serve as an insurance policy to protect taxpayers from potentially having to cover the costs of closing and cleaning up a controversial copper-nickel mine it wants to build in northeastern Minnesota.

A Republican tax package swiftly taking shape would pull down the top tax rate for wealthy Americans to 37 percent and slash the tax rate for corporations to a level slightly above what businesses and conservatives wanted.